San José State University
Sociology Department
Sociology 100W, Section 2 and 3, Fall 2010
Instructor:
Wendy Ng
Office Location:
DMH 223
Telephone:
(408) 924-5594
Email:
wendy.ng@sjsu.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesday: 8:30-9:00
Thursday: 8:30-9:00, 11:45-12:00, 1-2
And by appointment
Class Days/Time:
Sec. 2 Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-10:15
Sec. 3 Tuesday/Thursday 10:30-11:45
Classroom:
DMH 231
Prerequisites:
Completion of Core GE, WST, and Junior class standing
GE/SJSU Studies Category:
Area Z: Written Communication
Minimum of 8000 written words
Course Description
This course promotes writing skills while emphasizing their sociological applications. It
includes the generic elements of writing (organization, composition, and grammar). In
addition, experiential learning will require students to prepare sociological and professional
manuscripts geared to a variety of audiences and through in-class exercises, out of class
writing assignments, and research exercises.
Note: This course is geared toward Sociology majors. We will learn the conventions of
citation style and professional writing that are utilized by the American Sociological
Association (ASA Style). Students from other majors may need to make adjustments for your
specific discipline writing requirements.
Required Texts/Readings
Yellin, Linda L. 2009. A Sociology Writer’s Guide. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Other Recommended Readings
American Sociological Association Style Guide, Third Edition, 2007 (available at King
Reference, 2nd floor; call # HM569 .A54 2007)
GE Course Goals and Student Learning Objectives (LO)
Students will develop proficiency in college writing, focusing on :
LO 1: Familiarity with contemporary research methods and strategies;
LO 2: Express (explain, analyze, develop, and criticize) ideas effectively, including ideas
encountered in multiple readings.
LO 3: Organize and develop essays and documents for both professional and general
audiences, including understanding editorial standards for citing primary and secondary
sources.
LO 4: The mastery of different forms of discourse common to sociology; and
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 1 of 9
LO 5: The enhancement of skills learned in Core GE: English 1A and B.
Student Learning Objectives and Activities
Table 1: Learning Objectives and Assignments
Learning Objective
Assignment or Activity
LO 1: Familiarity with contemporary research
methods and strategies.
Qualitative/Quantitative Research Comparison
Literature Review (1000-1500 words)
Research Paper and Drafts
LO 2: Express (explain, analyze, develop, and
criticize) sociological concepts, methods, and
ideas in readings encountered in the discipline.
Literature Review (1000-1500 words)
Qual/Quant Research Article Comparison (1500 words)
Research Paper and Drafts (2500-3500 words +)
LO 3: Organize and develop essays and
documents for both professional and general
audiences, including understanding editorial
standards for citing primary and secondary
sources. Use of different forms of discourse to
effectively express sociological ideas and
analyses.
Library Search and Sources Assignment
LO 4: The mastery of different forms of discourse
common to sociology;
Resume, Memo, and Cover Letter (500 words)
Citation Style Exercise/Bibliography
Research Paper and Drafts (2500-3500 words +)
Resume/Cover Letter/Memo (500 words)
Literature Review (1000-1500 words)
Research Paper and Drafts (2500-3500 words +)
Qual/Quant Research Article Comparison (1500 words)
LO 5: Enhancing skills learned in Core GE,
English 1A and 1B; written and oral
communication
Library Assignment
Research Paper and Drafts (2500-3500 words +)
Oral Presentation
Peer Reviews and Quizzes
Desire 2 Learn (D2L) and Turnitin
Usually this course has a web supplement where you can access materials for the class.
This is the first semester of D2L and I have not yet converted my class to this program.
Hopefully, this will happen sometime during the first month (no guarantees). If everything
works out, you will be able to access course materials, including syllabi, hand-outs, and
assignments through this web-based system.
When requested, papers must be submitted in both hard copy (in class) and soft copy to
Turnitin. There will be several opportunities to use Turnitin and to revise your paper using the
originality reports generated by Turnitin. Final papers that are not turned in to Turnitin will
receive an automatic 10 point deduction.
Library Liaison
Bernice Redfern
bernice.redfern@sjsu.edu
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 2 of 9
(408) 808-2038
Assignments and Grading
Table 2 : Assignments and Grading
a. Quizzes
3 quizzes @ 25 points each
75 points
b. Written Assignments
Proposal, Lit Review, First Draft, etc…
155 points
c. In-Class Activities
Peer Reviews, Oral Presentations
95 points
d. Final Paper
Complete paper
100 Points
e. Final Quiz
Cumulative
75 points
Total Points
500 points
Point Breakdown of Written Papers and Assignments (parts b and c above)
Table 3: Point Breakdown of Written Papers and Assignments
Written Assignments
Points
In-Class/Take Home Activities
Points
Paper Topic & Cover Page
10
Library Assignment
10
Literature Review
25
Reference List Style Sheet
15
First Rough Draft
40
Book Review Assignment
20
Qualitative/Quantitative
Research
40
Research Oral Presentation and
3 minute “elevator pitch”
20
Resume/Letter/Memo
(10 pts. each)
Abstract
30
Peer Reviews (5 pts. each)
20
10
Conference/2nd Draft/Abstract
10
Total Points
155 pts.
Total Points
95 pts.
How the points are broken down:
There are two main types of activities/assignments. Written assignments include short and
longer essays (including your rough draft of your final paper). Each short paper is assigned a
different point value, with the longer papers and more complex assignments worth more
points. These are worth 155 points total.
In-Class Activities and Assignments we generally do in class, but there are a few
assignments that involve your filling out a worksheet outside of class. In addition, you will
receive credit for being in-class to do peer-reviews. The peer-reviews are not graded, and as
long as you are present and do the peer review in class, you will receive credit. These cannot
be made-up if you miss class. The conference requires that you present a revision of your
first draft. If you make no effort at a revision, that will affect your conference points. In order
to meet the General Education mandate of reinforcing basic GE skills, we will have 2 oral
presentations in this course. One will be 5-6 minutes long and scheduled at the end of the
semester. The second oral presentation will be the “3 minute elevator pitch” in which you will
be called on (unannounced) in class and asked a question to respond to.
Quizzes: There are 3 short quizzes that will be given during the last 20 minutes of class.
They are based upon material presented in class and in the readings. They are short answer,
fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, true-false. They are closed book and closed note. You must
be present in class to take the quiz and there are no make-ups. The final quiz is cumulative
and based upon previous quiz materials.
Final Paper and Final Quiz: The final paper MUST meet the criteria outlined by the Goals
and Objectives of Area Z, Advanced Writing. If the paper does not meet the standards, then
a no-credit will be given for the course, even if the student has completed other assignments.
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 3 of 9
The grading for the course is based upon accumulated points and quality of work. See note
below regarding passing the course. You may not pass the course with a final paper or final
quiz that does not meet a 72% average or better.
A (450-500 points) (90 to 100%)
A generally flawless completion of the assignment. The grammatically correct
expression of fully developed ideas and/or arguments. Knowledgeable, considered,
and thorough participation in a classroom discussion or activity (group exercise, peer
review).
B (400-449 points) (80% to 89%)
Reasonably competent and grammatically acceptable expression of ideas/arguments,
with only a few errors or omissions. Participation in classroom activities and
discussions but without the very high degree of competence, thoroughness, and/or
effort noted above for the A grade.
C (360-399 points) (72% to 79%)
Completion of the assignment at an acceptable level. Not all ideas/arguments
considered or fully developed. Grammatical/syntactical errors, participation in
classroom discussion or activity but with errors, oversights or omissions, and/or
minimal effort.
No Credit (359 points or less or any of the following writing assignment issues)
Partial or incomplete response to the assignment. Not all the requested work done.
Incomplete, poorly-reasoned, and/or poorly-expressed ideas or arguments.
Consistent structural errors. Little or no effort to participate in a classroom exercise or
discussion. Failure to submit any assignment. Final paper does not express the
goals and learning objectives of the Advanced Writing Requirement. Final Paper
does not utilize academic sources appropriate to the discipline. Improper citation or
inability to document academic sources.
Passing This Course: Every semester, there are students who receive an “NC” for this
course. This is due to a number of different reasons. Passing this course requires consistent
good effort to turn in all materials, make improvements on your successive drafts of your
papers, and to know the conventions of writing in the social sciences. Poor attendance,
papers written in one night (I know this is possible for some of you), or consistently turning
materials in late, usually result in lower overall points, and the possibility of not passing. On
occasion, there are individuals who have enough points to pass (this is because I give “free”
extra credit points and non-graded peer reviews), but do not have high enough scores on
their final paper or final quiz. This situation will result in an NC for the course.
Classroom Protocol
1. Late Assignment Penalty: All late assignments will lose 1-5 points (or up to 10%) for each
class meeting the assignment is late. I will allow assignments to be turned within one
week in-class with an excusable absence, and there will still be a late paper penalty.
Assignments must be turned in during class (hard copy) and not emailed to the instructor.
Papers CANNOT be turned into the department office anymore. If you do not come to
class to turn in your paper, you can only turn it in to me during my office hours (which are
limited because I have other meeting commitments). If you put your paper under my office
door, you take your chances and it is still considered late. Your paper will not be graded
until I have completed all of my other grading. You may always turn in assignments before
they are due.
2. Participation and Attendance: This is a fast-paced class that is front-loaded to have most
of the work done by early November. Given the nature of the in-class skills
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 4 of 9
demonstrations and exercises, they cannot be made up. The syllabus states the topics,
readings, assignments, and readings and we will follow the schedule as closely as
possible. However, there may be times we may have to spend more time on items that
class members feel are essential to their writing practices. Throughout the semester, I
sometimes have unannounced extra credit activities. You MUST be in class to do this in
order to participate in the peer reviews and other assignments, thus participation and
attendance are critical to your success. DO contact me if something happens to you and
you are absent for more than one week.
3. Being on Time: Attendance and being on time is critical on the days that we have in-class
peer reviews. If you do not have your assignment, then you can still do a peer review, but
will still need to turn in the assignment with a late penalty. While attendance cannot be
graded, expect that absences and/or late arrivals could affect your grade should you miss
(parts of) in-class exercises or assignments. If you miss announcements, lecture material,
hand-outs, you need to be sure to pick them up and have someone else to get them for
you.
4. Hand-outs: Most of the time I give hand-outs in class that explain the assignments.
Because of budget cuts and the environment, we have been asked to reduce the number
copies we make for class. Thus, I am going to put materials on D2L or email them to you
before class. You will be asked to print off a copy of the hand-out for class when we are
discussing the assignment. Check your email frequently for these messages.
Dropping and Adding
Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops,
and academic renewal. Information on adds/drops are available at: <http://info.sjsu.edu/webdbgen/narr/soc-fall/rec-324.html>.
Information about late drop is available at:
<http://www.sjsu.edu/sac/advising/latedrops/policy/>. Students should be aware of the
current deadlines and penalties for adding and dropping classes.
University Policies
Academic integrity
Students should know that the University’s Academic Integrity Policy is available at:
http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/download/judicial_affairs/Academic_Integrity_PolicyS072.pdf. Your
own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University
and the University’s integrity policy, require you to be honest in all your academic course
work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct
and Ethical Development. The website for Student Conduct and Ethical Development is
available at: http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/judicial_affairs/index.html.
Instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Cheating on exams or plagiarism
(presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without
giving proper credit) will result in a failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this
class, all assignments are to be completed by the individual student unless otherwise
specified. If you would work on your writing assignments with material you have submitted, or
plan to submit for another class, please note that SJSU’s Academic Policy F06-1 requires
approval of instructors.
Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to
make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an
appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 5 of 9
Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must
register with the DRC (Disability Resource Center) to establish a record of their disability.
Student Technology Resources
Computer labs for student use are available in the Academic Success Center located on the
1st floor of Clark Hall and on the 2nd floor of the Student Union. Computers are also available
in the Martin Luther King Library.
A wide variety of audio-visual equipment is available for student checkout from Media
Services located in IRC 112. These items include digital and VHS camcorders, VHS and
Beta video players, 16 mm, slide, overhead, DVD, CD, and audiotape players, sound
systems, wireless microphones, projection screens and monitors.
Learning Assistance Resource Center
The Learning Assistance Resource Center (LARC) is located in Room 600 in the Student
Services Center. It is designed to assist students in the development of their full academic
potential and to motivate them to become self-directed learners. The center provides support
services, such as skills assessment, individual or group tutorials, subject advising, learning
assistance, summer academic preparation and basic skills development. The LARC website
is located at: <http://www.sjsu./edu/larc/>
SJSU Writing Center
The SJSU Writing Center is located in Room 126 in Clark Hall. It is staffed by professional
instructors and upper-division or graduate-level writing specialists from each of the seven
SJSU colleges. The writing specialists have met a rigorous GPA requirement, and they are
well trained to assist all students at all levels within all disciplines to become better writers.
The Writing Center website is located at: http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/.
Peer Mentor Center
The Peer Mentor Center is located on the 1st floor of Clark Hall in the Academic Success
Center. The Peer Mentor Center is staffed with Peer Mentors who excel in helping students
manage university life, tackling problems that range from academic challenges to
interpersonal struggles. On the road to graduation, Peer Mentors are navigators, offering
“roadside assistance” to peers who feel a bit lost or simply need help mapping out the
locations of campus resources. Peer Mentor services are free and available on a drop –in
basis, no reservation required. The Peer Mentor Center website is located at
http://www.sjsu.edu/muse/peermentor/
My Writing Philosophy
My goal is to see that everyone becomes more comfortable with and improve their writing
this semester. I hope that you sharpen your skills in sociological thinking and writing, but also
in your everyday practices with writing. I am sure many of you have heard that writing is a
skill that takes practice. Most of writing is editing and revision. Many times I have personally
struggled with writing and have to force myself to write, edit, and re-write many times. Good
writing can be accomplished through continued writing and thoughtful revision. You may or
may not be a professional writer at some time in your life, but as a sociologists we are able to
have a better understanding of our life and others. Through writing, we can use our
“sociological imagination” to bring about a better understanding of society.
Soci 100W Fall 2010 Page 6 of 9
Soci 100w: Writing Workshop
Fall 2010
Reading and Assignment Schedule
Yellin=A Sociology Writer’s Guide
PR = Peer Review
Assignments are due in-class on Thursdays, unless otherwise noted. Please bear in
mind that I will adjust the syllabus according to class needs. That is, if we need to spend
a longer time on some areas, we will rearrange the topics.
Table 4: Reading and Assignment Schedule
Reading and Assignment Schedule
Date
Topic
Reading
Assignment/Activity
Th 8/26
Introduction to the Class
Yellin, Preface, pp. xi-xii
Writing: Your Strengths
and Challenges
Tu 8/31
Understanding Sociological
Writing and Research
Papers in the Social
Sciences
Yellin, Chapter 1—sections 1a
and 1b
Th 9/2
Topic Selection: What’s a
good topic? Starting your
paper and organizing your
research.
Yellin, Chapter 1—sections 1c, d,
e, f, g, h
Tu 9/7
Structure and Writing Style:
The 10 Revision Cycles and
Grammar Review
Yellin, Chapter 2—sections 2a, b,
c, d, e, f, g, h (pp. 9-31)
Th 9/9
Format in Academic Papers
Yellin, Chapter 2, section 2k (pp.
45-53)
Grammar Review
Chapter 2, sections listed above
Tu 9/14
The Library Research
Paper/Term Paper
Yellin, Chapter 5 (all); Chapter 6,
section 6f (pp. 116-123)
Th 9/16
Grammar Review
(continued)
Yellin, Chapter 2 (sections listed
above)
Paper Topic/Cover Page
Due
PR #1
Tu 9/21
Library Field Trip
Th 9/23
Information Literacy: How
do you evaluate sources
from the Internet?
Yellin, chapter 3 (focus on 3e-3k,
pp. 56-70)
Library Worksheet
DVD: “Information
Literacy: The Perils of
Online Research”Online
Research
Quiz #1
Tu 9/28
Thesis Statements
See section 1e (p. 5), pp. 120123, section 11b (pp. 176-177)
Date
Topic
Reading
Assignment/Activity
Th 9/30
Citing/Quoting Sources
Yellin, Chapter 4
DVD: Avoiding Plagiarism
Tu 10/5
Reference Lists
Yellin, Chapter 4
Th 10/7
Reference Lists (cont’d.)
Reference Worksheet
Literature Review Due
PR #2
Tu
10/12
Quantitative Research
Papers
Yellin, chapter 6
Choose ONE (D2L)
Lee, “Which Kids Can
“Become” Scientists? Effects of
Gender, Self-Concepts, and
Perceptions of Scientists”
Baba and Murray, “Spousal
Abuse: Vietnamese Children’s
Report of Spousal Violence”
Th
10/14
Qualitative Research
Papers
Yellin, Chapter 7
Choose ONE (D2L)
Williams, Alvarez and Hauck,
“My Name is Not Maria: Young
Latinas in the Heartland”
Shakib and Dunbar “The Social
Construction of Female and
Male High School Basketball
Participation: Reproducing the
Gender Order through a TwoTiered Sporting Institution”
Kibria “Race, Ethnic Options,
and Ethnic Binds: Identity
Negotiations of SecondGeneration Chinese and
Korean Americans”
Tu
10/19
Other Types of College
Papers:
Compare/Contrast,
Critique or Text analysis
Yellin, Chapter 9 and 11,
Quiz #2
Th
10/21
Book Reviews
Yellin, Chapter 10
1st Rough Draft Due
Tu
10/26
Business Correspondence,
Hand-Outs
Th
10/28
Business Correspondence
Hand-Outs
Qual/Quant Paper
Writing Essay Exams
Yellin, Chapter 12
PR #4
PR #3
Tu 11/3
Beginning and Ending
Your Paper: Abstract and
Conclusion
Yellin, Chapter 8 (Abstracts)
Business Correspondence
Chapter 7 (7n-9, pp. 153-155)
PR #5
Chapter 6 (6k-m, pp. 133-135)
2nd draft/abstract due the
day of your conference
Th 11/4
Individual Conferences
Work on papers
Tu 11/9
Individual Conferences
Work on papers
Th
11/11
No Class: Veterans Day
Tu
11/16
Individual Conferences
Work on papers
See Above
Th
11/18
Individual Conferences
Work on papers
See Above
Tu
11/23
Individual Conferences
Work on papers
See Above
Tu
11/30
Oral Presentations
Th 12/2
Oral Presentations
Tu 12/7
Oral Presentations
Th 12/9
Oral Presentations
Final Paper Due
Final Quiz:
Section 2: Monday Dec 13, 8:00am- 9:30 am
Section 3: Friday Dec 17, 9:45-12 noon
Note: Section 2 is scheduled to begin at 7:15 am, but that is way too early for me and for you. The final
quiz does not take the entire time period. Section 3 is scheduled to begins at 9:45, but does not take
the entire exam period. Students wishing to take the final quiz at a different time must schedule with
reschedule with me at least three weeks before the last day of classes. You may reschedule any final
exam if you have more than 2 finals within a 24 hour period, per university policy.
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/soc-fall/rec-344.html